The Office of Accreditation is a regulatory office charged with the primary responsibility of administering the state's performance-based accreditation system for public schools and the accreditation system for nonpublic schools electing to seek accreditation from the State Board of Education. The Office of Accreditation operates under the umbrella of the Mississippi State Board of Education and the Commission on School Accreditation.
Staff members in the Office of Accreditation continuously monitor school districts to verify compliance with applicable accreditation requirements through (1) investigative evaluations (complaints against school districts), (2) annual personnel data reports, and (3) reports from other state or federal programs.
The major responsibilities and objectives of the office are the following:
- To verify and report to the Commission on School Accreditation and the State Board of Education the extent to which public school districts comply with the accreditation standards recommended by the Commission and approved by the Board.
- To verify and report to the State Board of Education the extent to which nonpublic schools accredited by the Board comply with the accreditation standards established by the Board.